Students at music college might lose fight to transfer credits

The sudden closure of McNally Smith College of Music may leave students with few options for completing a degree because of the school’s weak accreditation.

Unlike public colleges and universities, which are regionally accredited, the St. Paul for-profit music school is nationally accredited. Transfer students historically have had little luck getting their new colleges to award credit for McNally Smith coursework.

Tim Levandowski, 21, was a semester from graduating with a bachelor’s degree in music production. He’s weighing his options on whether to try to transfer his credits and complete his degree, settle for an associate of arts from McNally Smith and accept his student debt, or forgo his education and use what he’s learned to find work. He said roughly 75 percent of his loans are from a private loaner, Sallie Mae, which lessens his chances for loan forgiveness.

“People don’t come here for a degree; they come here for knowledge,” Levandowski said of the school. “The staff are some of the wisest people to learn from in the field, and it’s heartbreaking knowing our education and people’s jobs are lost.”

Levandowski expects his graduation date to be pushed back a semester or two by transferring.

“All I’m missing is a degree,” he said. “It’s not a necessity to have one, but it sucks.”

FORMER STUDENTS HAVE SUED

In lawsuits pending in Ramsey County Circuit Court, two former students claimed the school misled them about the transferability of coursework, both in conversations with school officials and by failing to post a warning on the school’s website.

Caroline Brady, who started school as a music business major in 2011, said McNally Smith told her business credits would transfer to other schools but music credits might not.

But when she tried to take her 87 credits to the University of Minnesota, she was told none would transfer. Metropolitan State University approved just five credits.

Another former student, Brooke Colby, said she was told in 2008 she’d have “no problem” transferring credits from McNally Smith. But in 2012, the Community College of the Air Force told her no credits would transfer.

The school has denied misleading students about its accreditation but has acknowledged its credits rarely transfer.

In a January 2016 email to Brady’s mother, McNally Smith dean of academic affairs John Krogh said they don’t keep a list of schools that approve transfer credits.

“Most of our students do not attempt to transfer into other colleges, so there isn’t a rich history of relationships with other schools to draw on,” Krogh said in the email.

McNally Smith announced Thursday it had run out of money and would close when the semester ends.

WHAT THE SCHOOL IS DOING

The school’s founder, Jack McNally, said by email Friday school officials are working on transfer pathways with “several schools in the Twin Cities and beyond” so that students can continue with their studies.

He did not respond to a question about whether any schools have agreed to award credit for McNally Smith coursework.

According to legal filings in Brady’s lawsuit, McNally Smith had been pursuing regional accreditation but withdrew its candidacy because it was considering an ownership change and accrediting status would not pass to new owners.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education will be holding student records once the college closes.

McNally Smith has told the state it’s already working with other schools about credit transfer, but “we haven’t been provided with specifics,” said Kate McCartan, a manager with the state office.

The state is willing to help arrange transfer pathways with other schools, she said.

It’s generally up to each school to decide whether to accept credits from transferring students, McCartan said, and students leaving regionally accredited schools have better luck.

McCartan said “quite a few” students called her office Friday morning inquiring about their transfer options. The office will be posting information on its website about transfer options as it’s received.

“It’s certainly a very unsettling time,” she said.

Minnesota State, the public higher education system with 37 state colleges and six universities, said in a statement Friday that it’s “pleased to work with (McNally Smith) students to see how their credits align with our course offerings and fit into our programs.” Students may also earn credit for prior learning, spokesman Doug Anderson said.

The Minnesota Music Coalition is offering students free mentoring, networking, training and legal help.

HOW LOANS CAN BE FORGIVEN

McNally Smith students who don’t find a similar school at least have a chance to get some of their student debt erased.

The government discharges as much as 100 percent of federal student loan debt for current students or those who have left a school no more than 120 days before it closes.

Seventy percent of McNally Smith students take out federal loans, according to the most recent federal data. The median graduate leaves school owing $26,550 in federal loans alone.

However, loan forgiveness is unavailable to students who enroll at another school and succeed in getting their credits transferred. And there is no forgiveness for private loans.

Andrea Mendoza, an international student from Peru, would have graduated this spring. Attending McNally Smith on a student visa, which will expire after the semester ends, Mendoza has 60 days to return home after it expires.

“I don’t want to go home — not right now. I’m just looking for a college, anything that will work,” she said, adding that she has contacted the University of Minnesota and the University of Southern California.

Chanel Dela Cruz lives in the McNally Smith residence hall, which occupies three floors of the former Lowry Hotel in downtown St. Paul. She said the school has given students until Dec. 24 to move out of their apartments.

Originally from Las Vegas, she said she intends to stay in Minnesota and has begun searching for apartments and schools to transfer to.